[Pat_Bonsai]

this is my little trident maple its about 20cm tall ive had it for about 2 years now and its only 5 years old now ive got it in a informal upright now but i dont know where to go with it from here i think i got the basic structure at the moment i know its a bit thin but i will grow a sacrifice branch from the top what i would like to know is any suggestions u might have any at all and if u think i made any mistakes dont worry i can take it thank you

Attached File(s)

•  Maple 1 com.jpg (63.37K)
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[overgrown]

From the looks of it I'd get it into a training pot with some well draining soil next spring.

[Pat_Bonsai]

overgrown, on 05 November 2009 - 10:27 AM, said:

From the looks of it I'd get it into a training pot with some well draining soil next spring.

I will do that next spring i just done some prunin first and wanted to see how maples grow before repotting it but it will be potted into a larger training pot but wat i dont want is for it to grow any taller

[Ed Merc]

This needs to be either in the ground or in a grow box. A training pot is for training the roots on a well developed tree. This is not there yet, but it could be if you are willing to put in the time.

Trident maples are known for their powerful base/roots. Your tree has none at this point, but if you let it grow out in a wide (not deep) grow box it will develop. By the way, consider getting rid of that high root. It will only lead to trouble.

If you do not have this book already I strongly suggest you get it. It's the best source for Japanese and Trident Maple bonsai information I've seen.
Bonsai with Japanese Maples ~ Peter Adams

Take the time to do it right and you won't regret it.

Good luck,
Ed

[jkl]

You are in South Africa. It's spring there, and you probably can still do this (maybe Lennard can advise!!!).

You tree has several problem areas (SECOND picture). The root, as already mentioned. The first branch on the right grows out of a huge swollen spot. That will only get worse. And the thick part of the trunk at the top is too thick; it will keep your tree from having proper taper.

As a beginner, you may not be ready for this all at once, but picture NUMBER ONE shows what I would do with this tree: The root would go. So would that branch that comes out of that swollen spot. And the thick part of the top would be removed, leaving the thinner right hand branch as the new top. You could wire it more upright or leave as is. Other branches would be shortened a lot.

Trident maples sprout new branches fairly easily, and you would get quite a bit of new growth from these actions.

You may not be ready for that at this point in your bonsai career. This year I would at least cut away that fat top; I'd also recommend removing that fat side branch. Leave the root for now and leave the other branches alone.

You also need to get it into some coarser soil. That stuff it's in looks too heavy and slow draining.

For a tree this size, the pot it's in may be large enough for now to allow you some new growth. Show us another picture in your late summer. And good luck.

Sorry about the pics loading in the wrong order. New file names, I guess.

Attached File(s)

•  Maple 1 com.jpg (26.88K)
  Number of downloads: 32
•  Maple a1.jpg (30.09K)
  Number of downloads: 30

[lennard]

I will go with JKL on this one.

But first remove the tree from that pot and remove some of that unwanted soil- dont bare root, keep a little soilball.

Plant it in a free draining mix. I use 20% gravel, 40% washed river sand, 20% palm peat(a long lasting organic fibre obtained from the Cantonese's palm.) and 20% other organics like composted bark.

Plant it in a cheap round shallow plastic wash basin with a lot of drainage holes(I use a disk grinder to do the slids) and water well.

Keep it in light shade until you see growth.

Dont keep it in full sun, Trident maples in pots dont like that very much here in RSA.(Full morning sun with light afternoon shade will be fine

After some heavy growth do as JKL recommended.

Lennard

[Pat_Bonsai]

thank you very very much to all of you this is very good advice and i will repot it into a shallow grow box but probably only next year coz its a bit late in the year right now and i know about the root it is ugly and nasty but i wasnt sure how to take it off what it will do but thank you tons

[Accrajucar]

Pat_Bonsai, on 05 November 2009 - 09:01 PM, said:

thank you very very much to all of you this is very good advice and i will repot it into a shallow grow box but probably only next year coz its a bit late in the year right now and i know about the root it is ugly and nasty but i wasnt sure how to take it off what it will do but thank you tons

I see you've run out of periods. I have plenty, so you can have some: ...................................................

[Pat_Bonsai]

sorry just busy not much time for punctuation

[jkl]

Ahhh.

Well, we may not have time for reading (deciphering), then.

How much time can a period take?

[slothrop]

About as much time as it takes to type an apostrophe

One question I had: What causes the trunk to become swollen like that?

[jkl]

Quote

What causes the trunk to become swollen like that?

At one time or another there were several branches sprouting from that same spot. Maples do that.

[slothrop]

Ahh, that makes sense. Is that sort of along the lines of bar branching?

[jkl]

Yup.

[slothrop]

Ahhhh, good thing I chopped that branch on my Ficus that was developing a big bar branch..

Thanks ;-)